Many people now associate Bitcoins with investments and deep-tech matters. It’s so much so that people often forget something: Bitcoins are designed for everyday transactions. The dream behind Bitcoin was that users could rely on this decentralized cryptocurrency for sending and receiving payments with ease.
For example, sending a Bitcoin payment is as easy as paying someone via PayPal or bank transfer (PayPal has also associated itself with the cryptocurrency ecosystem). You need to have a set of things/services at your disposal; that’s it. If you want to avail the best security from the Bitcoin blockchain network, you have to follow some precautionary steps.
In short, you can complete a Bitcoin transaction within a few minutes. In this article, we have explained how you can do that. We won’t go into the specifics or technicalities in this guide. Instead, you can count on these steps for a safer transaction.
What Do You Need to Send a Bitcoin Payment?
You need the following things at your disposal before you can proceed to send Bitcoin payment.
1. A Cryptocurrency Wallet
Before you get the Bitcoins you want to send, you should have a wallet to store these Bitcoins. A cryptocurrency wallet is a secure app that holds the private key, public key, and other details of the crypto tokens you have. In this case, the wallet would keep the information about the Bitcoin tokens. So, you have to choose a crypto wallet that works with Bitcoin.
On a side note, it won’t be a problem since Bitcoin is the OG of all cryptocurrency tokens. It is also essential to use a Bitcoin wallet with best-in-class security and reliability. Depending on your convenience, you can go for digital, physical, or hybrid cryptocurrency wallets. You can even go for disposable paper wallets, but you will have a wallet ID anyway.
This wallet ID is similar to an email ID. It’s just that you use the wallet ID to send/receive crypto tokens.
2. Bitcoins
You should have a sufficient amount of Bitcoin before you can send it to someone else. It is always good to have a little more than the exact amount of Bitcoins you want to send. In this way, you don’t have to worry about an empty wallet. For instance, if you’re going to send Bitcoins worth $100 to someone, you should have Bitcoins worth $101 with you. This extra amount will help you handle the dynamic transaction fees as well.
You can use multiple methods to buy Bitcoin, but cryptocurrency exchanges are the most popular option. It won’t take more than a few seconds for you to purchase Bitcoin from one of the trusted exchanges. You will have to provide the wallet ID during checkout, and the funds will be in your wallet in a few minutes. You can pay for Bitcoin using bank transfer, credit/debit card, PayPal, or other payment methods depending on the wallet you use.
There are other ways to buy Bitcoin, but they are not as popular/reliable as the exchanges. Therefore, if you are new to the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions, we believe you are better off with a popular cryptocurrency exchange. By the way, almost all crypto exchanges offer their digital crypto wallet, but experts don’t recommend that due to security concerns. Because cryptocurrency exchanges are the favorite targets of hackers, it is safer to keep your Bitcoins elsewhere.
Now that you have a digital wallet with some Bitcoins inside, shall we see how you can send Bitcoin payment?
How to Send Bitcoin Payments?
As you may know, you can send Bitcoin to anyone who has a wallet ID.
This wallet ID will be the only thing you need to send someone a Bitcoin payment. Therefore, ensure that you have collected the exact wallet ID from the recipient of the transaction. Alternatively, the recipient may provide you a QR code, which you can scan.
Keep either thing handy, in a place where you can easily access it.
Now, you can follow the steps we have listed below to send the Bitcoin payment. The options might change based on the device you are using for the transaction. However, given that most crypto wallets have their apps for desktop, mobile, and web, you can choose one that suits your needs.
- You have to open the digital cryptocurrency wallet where you have stored your Bitcoin tokens.
- Choose the option to Send crypto funds to someone else.
- In this step, you can decide the amount of Bitcoin you want to send. In most wallets, you will find an option that takes the fiat money value from you and converts the same into Bitcoin figures. However, if you want to send a specific amount of Bitcoin to someone, you can also directly enter that figure.
- Continue with the process until you see the transaction/service fees for the transaction. Please keep in mind that wallets may charge you an extra transaction fee on top of the Bitcoin network fee.
- If you are okay with the transaction fees, you can tap on the Proceed button.
- In this step, you have to enter the recipient’s details. You can either provide the crypto wallet address or scan the QR code, as we said earlier. If you and the recipient use the same wallet, there might be an option to find the user via email/phone-number search.
- You can also provide a note for the transaction if you want to. Most wallets allow you to Preview the transaction before processing it.
- Once you have reverified all the information you have provided, you can proceed with the transaction through a tap or a slider on the screen.
After these steps, you may have to wait for a few seconds or minutes until you see the transaction reflect in the recipient’s wallet. The actual time may depend on the network traffic and the transaction fees you had chosen. So that you know, miners tend to verify your transaction and process it quickly if you offer a higher transaction fee. On the other hand, if the transaction fees are low, you will have to wait till a miner accepts the request.
Therefore, while sending Bitcoin payments, you can choose between speed and low transaction fees. If you are ready to wait, low transaction fees make it easy to take care of more significant amounts.
FAQ about Sending Bitcoin Payment
Can I send Bitcoin instantly?
Bitcoin transactions are not instant as of now. Users may have to wait for a couple of minutes to get a fully-fledged confirmation of the transaction. The Bitcoin blockchain uses a difficult algorithm to ensure the safety/privacy of every bit of Bitcoin that is sent.
Can I send Bitcoin to other wallets?
You can send Bitcoin to anyone, as long as their wallet has support for Bitcoin. However, experts recommend that you use individual wallet IDs for different tokens. That is, you can generate other wallet IDs for BTC and LTC transactions.
Are crypto wallets secure?
We can’t give you a single answer here, but there are many secure cryptocurrency wallets in the market. As long as you choose one with a trustworthy design and support for features like two-factor authentication, you don’t have to worry.
Are Bitcoin transactions free?
Bitcoin transactions are not free. Whenever you send Bitcoin to someone else, you have to pay the network fees and transaction fees. The exact price may vary depending on your transaction’s volume/priority, but they are generally lower than bank transfer/PayPal fees.
The Bottom Line
As you can see, it doesn’t take more than a few minutes to send a Bitcoin payment to someone else. Provided that you are using a secure crypto wallet, you don’t have to worry about security/privacy. Instead, you have to ensure that you get the right wallet ID or QR code from the recipient.